A/N: I hope everyone is having a good new year. I apologize for my absence. I've had some real life issues I have had to deal with and I haven't really been inspired to write as a result. Again, so sorry. Thank you Queen Naberrie for your review. Without further ado…

Chapter Twenty Two

A Binary Sunset

The twin suns were painfully bright this Tatooine afternoon, sinking slowly from their spots overhead down to the Lars Homestead's western sky.

Beru Whitesun shielded her blue eyes with her hand and walked forward.

Owen had gone out to Mos Espa to buy some food from the market.

They had made the trip out less and less lately.

It was still somewhat safe out in rural farmlands, but the bustling Mos Espa was another thing entirely. Owen had always made it back from his trips unscathed, but Beru was still sick with worry whenever he went out.

Today could be the day, she'd think with suffocating anxiety. Today could be the day when he wouldn't come back.

Her breath was tight in her chest and she couldn't will herself to release the air trapped in her lungs. She began to feel lightheaded and finally she exhaled. She scanned the perimeter of the homestead for Owen.

Finally, she saw the little dot of his swoop bike appear along the horizon. She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

After a minute he had reached the homestead. He walked towards her and she ran over to him, hugging him tightly.

"Oh, thank the gods."

"You shouldn't worry so much, Beru. I can take care of myself."

"I know. It's just…people disappear every day. Strong people. People who could normally protect themselves."

He ran his hands along the braided bun on the back of her head and then he cupped her cheek.

"Nothing will happen to me, okay?" He said softly.

He kissed her cheek.

"Let's go inside. I'm starving."

She smiled.

An hour later they set the table for dinner. Cliegg was quiet. The man used to be talkative, cracking a joke often. Playing pranks.

Beru remembered with wistfulness one evening when they were all in the kitchen, back when Shmi was still alive. Cliegg had thrown some vegetables at her. He loved getting a rise out of Beru, probably because she always got really, really angry.

She had pelted him with food and they were all shrieking with laughter.

But those days were long gone. Every now and then he'd make a sarcastic comment, but he had lost his sense of humor.

Cliegg's happiness had been wrapped up entirely in Shmi and now that she was gone there wasn't very much to be happy about.

Beru ruffled his graying hair and kissed the crown of his head.

He looked up at her and smiled faintly.

They all took their place at the dining table.

Ten minutes into their dinner they all heard voices.

Beru frowned.

"Now who could that be at this time of day?"

"I'll go and see who it is." Owen offered.

He had barely gotten out of his chair when there was a loud crash.

Tusken Raiders wouldn't be quite brazen enough to come this close and they certainly wouldn't break into someone's house unless provoked.

Owen picked up the rifle, resting against the dining room wall.

"Stay here." He said quietly.

Before he could walk out of the dining room, a group of about ten men blocked the entry.

Owen raised his rifle and pointed it at them. His finger was poised on the trigger.

"I don't recall sending you an invitation to join us these evening." He said coldly to the intruders.

"I didn't recall needing one." The one closest to him replied.

"If you don't get out of my house now the only way you'll leave the room is with half your skull missing."

"That seems highly unlikely. You're greatly outnumbered."

'We're poor farmers. We have nothing of use for you."

"We're not here to rob you of your possessions."

"Then why have you wasted a trip?"

"It's not a wasted trip. We've found just what we were looking for."

Owen tried to hide his confusion and firmed his grip on his rifle.

There was a rustle to his left and Owen turned quickly on his heels, aiming his rifle. The man directly in front of him was quick to produce a blaster and he took the small window of opportunity to fire. It was set to stun so it didn't kill Owen.

Instead he was rendered useless on the dining room floor.

Beru screamed. She couldn't even run to protect the older, weaker Cliegg.

She felt pain on the side of her head and she too fell, paralyzed to the ground.

The war had claimed much of Anakin Skywalker's home planet.

But now, it had claimed the only family he had ever known.

Tatooine had never been a paradise or a safe haven.

But whatever good remained of it had been taken in a matter of months.

And what remained of Anakin's family had been taken in a matter of minutes.

The planet had always been regarded of as desert wastelands, empty and barren.

And now it was truly barren in every sense of the word.

There was nothing left of Tatooine.

There was no beauty or love or kindness.

It was a colorless orb in the night sky that possessed now only one thing.

Greed.